Prison Employee Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Inmates

AVENEL — An employee at East Jersey State Prison has been arrested and charged with having sex with five inmates and supplying drugs to two of them, Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan and Gary M. Lanigan, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections announced today.

Joy R. Black, 32, of Irvington was arrested at the prison on June 30 and was charged with official misconduct, five counts of sexual assault and two counts of distributing a controlled dangerous substance.

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Black, who worked as a teacher’s assistant at the prison, is being held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick. Bail has not yet been set, officials said.

She was arrested and charged following an investigation by Sgt. Randi Colatrella and Investigator Melissa Terpanick of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and Senior Investigator Chris Birardi and Senior Investigator Kevin Koch of the Special Investigations Unit of East Jersey State Prison.

The investigation determined that Black had sexual relations with the inmates in a school area inside the prison on various occasions between November 2009 and June 2010, authorities said.

Black also allegedly brought undisclosed quantities of marijuana and cocaine to the prison and gave the illegal substances to two of the inmates during the same time period.

The prison is located in the Avenel section of Woodbridge. Black has worked there since June 12, 2004.

Kaplan noted that members of the Woodbridge Police Department assisted in the investigation and thanked them for their work.